Coming off of six consecutive wins, the men's tennis team secured victories number seven and eight last weekend to give the program its longest winning streak since 2000. The ninth-ranked men beat No. 15 Bates 7-2 on Friday and bested Hamilton 8-1 on Sunday, improving their record to 10-5.
Doubles play has led the way for the Polar Bears and the duos have gone 24-0 since returning from a Spring Break trip to California. For much of that time the pairings have been Sam King '14 and captain Oscar Pena '12 at No. 1, first years Kyle Wolstencroft and Doug Caplan at No. 2, and Casey Grindon '13 and Chris Lord '14 at No. 3.
Against Hamilton, however, captain Kent Winingham '12 paired up with Pena for the first time this season. Though Pena said that there is typically an adjustment period when playing alongside a new partner, the captains earned a commanding 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles.
Despite injuries for some team members throughout the season, the team's outlook has remained positive. "The rest of the guys had to step up," remarked Pena, and he said he believed that they have.
Pena lauded Grindon—who won 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1 singles on Sunday—for the "strong play he's shown throughout the season," especially after King and Pena were on the shelf earlier in the spring.
The Polar Bears now move into the final week of the regular season, and some alumni are expected to return in support of the team. Their final two matches are at home, against Colby today at 4 p.m. and No. 3 Williams tomorrow at 2 p.m.
-Compiled by Liv King.